Thirty
by Haribo2012
Summary: On the eve of Gabriella's 30th birthday, Gabi questions her friendship with Sharpay.When an one night stand forced Gabi to make hard choices she learns that true loves comes at a price.
1. Chapter 1

**Thirty**

This is slighty different storyline I am doing but I hope you like it

Please review

is based on the book Something Borrowed

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As I perch on an coach in a dark lounge at a club at my surprise 30th birthday party, that was organize by Sharpay who is my best friend and has been since the age of eight years old. I come to realize thirty is just a number,that you are only as old as you feel. And I realize in the scheme of things that thirty is still young,But is not that young.

Tonight the chapter on my twenties will be closed forever. It reminds me of a New Year's Eve. When the countdown is starting and I am not sure to do- grab my camera or live in the moment.

I did not plan being single in thirties, even in my early thirties, Hell according to the timetable I had planned when I was ten in class, the teacher Miss Grant had set us a the task of answering this question _'Where do you see yourself in twenty years?'_ I was meant to be at a fancy restaurant where my husband the father of my two children was meant to be toasting to me so here I am on a brink on the brink of a new decade, I finally realize that you can't create your own timetable and it will come on the eve of my thirtieth birthday I must face I am 0 for 2,

Yes I am an attorney at a large New York firm, but I am miserable, being a lawyer is nothing you see on the televisions I work long hours doing tedious paperwork I work for a mean boss who expects me to work all the time and have no social life , I am rarely in court and I get paid very little,: everyday I wake up and I think to myself _ I hate my job, I will quit soon, just soon as my off my loans, just soon as I make next year's bonus, will find someone that will pay it for me._

I am alone in a city of millions, I have plenty of friends as proven by the solid turn out tonight, friends to jog in the park with, Friends to holiday with, Friends to meet on Friday night after work for drinks, and I have Sharpay my best friend who is all above. But I have no boyfriend to celebrating turning of a new decade with.

And that being along makes my thirties daunting and being thirty makes me feel all the more alone.

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What ya think? Something different? Yes know Sharpay and Gabi are friends but it will work for the storyline

UNTIL NEXT TIME

PLEASE REVIEW

HARIBO X


	2. Chapter 2

Thirty

Chapter Two 

Hope you are enjoying this

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The Situation seems all more dismal because my best and oldest friend has a glamorous job and is newly engaged, I watch her now, telling a story to a group of us including her fiancé Troy Bolton

"Okay. I'll be right back" Sharpay suddenly announce "Shots for one and all!"

As she moves towards the bar, I think back to all the birthdays we reached and all the goals we reached, the goals that I always reached first such as getting my driving license and being able to drink legally. Being older By a few months was an awesome thing.

Sharpay is now leaning over the bar flirting with the twenty something bartender, Sharpay has already told me that she would totally do if she were single….. As if Sharapy would ever be single,Back in high school, she once said " I don't break up I trade up- she had kept her word, always doing the dumping, Throughout our teenage years, college and our twenties, she has always been in an relationship.

It occurs to me that I could hook up with bartender- I haven't been on a date in two months, One night stands doesn't seem like something one should do at age thirty, they are for girls in their twenties- not that I would know, I was goody shoes- straight As in school went to college then to Law School then to the Law Firm, No backpacking in Europe, no lustful relationship, No crazy stories. Not that I could do any of that, as it would further delay my goal of finding a husband and having children.

So I feel unsettled about the future and regretful about my past, I mean who isn't, on the eve of a new decade?, I shake my head and tell myself there will be time to ponder, Tonight is all about having fun with my friends.

Sharapy returns with shots, Troy refuses his so I end up doing two shots, Before I know it the night is getting blurry, I was slightly drunk, but Shapary was worst she was now on the tables dancing.

" Stealing the show at your party" Taylor, my closest friend from work muttered to me

I laugh" Yeah. Par for the course" Sharpay has always upstaged me, I never really minded, she entertains and I make a good audience, that my role in our friendship, I have embraced it, but tonight on my thirteth birthday I am feeling a flicker of annoyance.

"Gabi! Come here! Gabi" Sharapy beckons me, she knows that I will not join her never having danced on the bar, I shake my head and smile. We wait for her next move, I glance at Troy to say this man has a patience, is an understatement Troy and I have this in common.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY GABI!" Sharpary yells " Let's raise a glass to my best and oldest Friend Gabriella Louis Monte!" which everyone does without taking their eyes off her.

Seconds later Troy takes Shapary off the bar slings Shapary over his shoulder and deposit her next to me in one fluid motion, clearly having doing this loads of time.

"Right I am taking our party planner home" he announces

"You are not the boss of me Troy!" Sharpay says stamping her feet "Is he Gabi?"

"You are wasted Sharpay, this is not fun for anyone apart from you "Troy Grimaces

"I am feeling sick anyway" she says looking queasy

I thank her for my party, tell her it was a total surprise, she hugs me hard and says that she would anything for me and what she would do without me, the sister she never had and her maid of honor, she is being soppy as usual when she had a few to drink.

" Happy Birthday Gabi-Lou we will see you tomorrow," he gives me a kiss on the cheek

" Thanks Troy"

I watch him usher Sharpay outside holding her around her waist incase she falls over, _ Oh to have such caretaker_.

Minutes later Troy reappears in the bar " Sharpay has lost her new bag, have you seen it"?

I shake my head knowing it was just like Sharpary to lose things, I help Troy find it finally spotting it under the table.

As Troy turns to leave, Troy's best friend and best man Chad convinces him to stay a longer

"You should stay for a while", I say "she will be fine"

Troy calls Sharpay who slurs her consent to tell him to have fun without her, although she is thinking that is no such thing.

One by one my friends start to peel away saying their goodbyes and wishing me a happy birthday, Its after two am before we leave the club it was only the two of us as Chad left at 1am.

As we step outside the night air feels like midsummer rather than spring, the warm air gives me sudden hope _This will be the summer I met a man!I_

Troy hails a cab "How about one more drink?"

"Fine by me "I say

We both in and tell the cab driver to the next bar, which we end up at a bar on twenty seventh street aptly name 27 street bar.

Once we get in and find a booth, Troy turns to me "What you having?" I reply that I would have the same of what he is having. I sit and wait for him, I see him chat to the girl at the bar who is laughing at something that Troy had said

Minutes later Troy slides in across from me, pushing a beer my way, I mutter thanks and take a sip of it,

Out of the comer of eye I see the girl at the bar looking at me and Troy likely wondering why Troy is with someone so average, I hope she think we are a couple.

Troy and I talk about our jobs, our annual holiday planning to Orlando which starts next week we talk about a lot of things but Sharpay does not come up, neither does their October Wedding, Our conversation is easy and natural, it's been a long time since we were alone uninterrupted.

"When is last time we hang out alone?" I ask, remembering when Troy and I became friends during our first year at Law School, We used to meet for Coffee or lunch or stroll around the park between classes, this was all before I introduced Troy to Sharpary, once they begun to date my friendship with Troy began to change, we still continued to do things alone in law school, but after graduation the chats over coffee and strolls around the park ended, our friendship only involved Sharapy, she filled it, I barely noticed it until tonight how peaceful it is without her.

Troy looks me at intently " It has been a while, hadn't it?", I feel my pulse quickening as I nod holding his gaze. " Too long" Troy says,

"Too Long" I echo, my stomach feeling a nervous- a familiar feeling, it was the way I felt when I first met Troy, when I was so conscious of his good looks and trying my hardest not to fall for him, after a while he became just Troy my friend, safe ground,

"We had some fun times , while being in hell" Troy says fondly, that how we referred to the years we spend in Law School, it was excruciating yet rosy and exhilarating Troy and I would always have that bond and memories, that had nothing to do with Sharpay.

It was nearly four am when 27 Street bar does last call, so we grab two more beers and return to the booth, we talk and laugh, I am happy, the only wish is that it could go on all night. We finish the last of our beer in comfortable silence. We are in cab again heading north, towards my place. The cab will drop me off then Troy off. We sit in silently for a stretch of ten blocks with both of looking out of our own window, until the cab hits a pothole and I find myself lurched in the middle of the back seat, then suddenly out of nowhere Troy is kissing me, or did I kiss him, either way we are kissing and its surreal, My mind goes blank as I listen to the soft sound of our lips meeting again and again.

We arrive at the corner of my apartment where Troy hands the cab diver a thirty and does not wait for change we spill out of the taxi, kissing on the sidewalk, we kiss the whole way up in the elevator. I fumble with the door key, turning it the wrong way, Troy's lips is on my neck, Finally the door is open we are in my living room, we stumble all the way to my bedroom.

"Are you drunk?" His voice whisper in the dark

"No" I reply as you say no when you drunk when you really are, I have a moment of thought, that I am finally getting what I miss out when I was in my twenties,that Troy can be my dark secret , last chance for something dark to go in my twenty something chapter.

And then somehow I am having sex with my best friend's fiancé

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Until next time

PLEASE REVIEW

HARIBO XXX


	3. Chapter 3

**Thirty**

**Chapter three**

Huge thanks goes to my reviewers so glad you are enjoying the story

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I wake up to my phone ringing then I hear Sharapy's voice over the answering machine

" _PICK Up! Please Pick up! Gabriella Louise Monte! Answer the phone!_ "

I sit up to quickly the room spins, I glance over to Troy who back is to me I jab it hard with one finger Troy lets out a yelp and rolls over looking at me " Oh Christ what time is it!"

My alarm clock tells me is 7:15 am, I have been thirty for two hours

Troy gets out of bed picking up his clothes which are all over the bedroom floor. The answering machine beeps and once again Sharapy is wailing "_Troy never came home WAKE UP I NEED YOUUUU!_

"Oh my god what do I do?" my voice is hoarse and shaking "shall I answer and tell her that you crash here?"

" Hell no!- let me think for a sec" Troy sits down on the bed, wearing only boxers rubbing his hand over his jaw, which now had shadow of whiskers

I feel sick and awful, I burst into tears – which never helps anything

"Is going to be ok do not cry Gabbi, its going to be ok", Troy says soothing while putting on his jeans and shirt, then he checks his phone which shows that he has fifteen miss calls "Shittttt" he says, his eyes only showing distress, everything is silent for a couple minutes while Troy is thinking what to do then he looks at me,

"This is what is going to happen, Gabi look at me", I obey and look at him "This will be fine, Just listen" he says as if he is talking to a client during court.

"I am going to tell her that I stayed out till five then went to breakfast with Chad,"

"What am I going to tell her" I asked

" You tell her that you left the party and went home and say that can't remember for sure whether I was still there, and be sure to say you think- don't be to definite and that's all you know, okay?"

"Call her now and I will call Chad the minute I leave Got it?"

I nod my eyes filling with tears again. " What if she already spoken to Chad? I asked when Troy is halfway out the door "We are sooo screwed"

Troy turns around and looks at me for a second and it looks as though he going to yell at me to pull myself together, but he speaks and his tone is gentle "Gabriella , we are not screwed , I got it covered, just got to say what I told you.. and Gabs?"

"Yeah?"

" I'm really sorry"

" Me too" I say

Soon as Troy leaves I reach for the phone and call Sharpay , she is still hysterical _" The bastard did not come home last night! He better be in a hospital bed!... Do you think he cheated on me?"_

My head and heart is pounding and the room is spinning _ "I am sure he is not cheating on you"_

"_Why are you so sure?_

" _Because he would not do that to you Sharpay "_ I cannot believe my words and how easily they come

" _Well where the fuck is he!? The bar closes at five and its seven freaking thirty!"_

She asks me what time I left, and whether Troy was still there, who was he with,- same questions that Troy had prepped me on. I suggest that she should phone Chad, "_The dumbass did not answer his phone!"_ she says

Yesss we have a chance.

I hear the tone of call waiting then she is gone, she calls me back saying it was Troy and she will call me when she can.

I walk unsteady to the bathroom, take a glance in the mirror and I am shocked by what I see my smooth skin is red and blotchy my eyes are red and ringed mascara and charcoal liner, I make it to the toilet before dry heaving – something I have not done since I have in college which was the one time because I learn from mistakes unlike the other college kids who would repeat it the following weekend.

I shower to get rid of the smoke from my body and hair then I just wait to hear from Sharpay but hours pass she does not call, around noon birthday wishes start flooding in, I put on a good front but it isn't easy.

By three I am starting to feel sick again so I take some painkillers and chug a glass of water, I wonder what is going on, did anyone see us? Did anyone see us together at the bar? What was going on at their apartment had Troy confessed?, was their fighting going on or love making?

While all the thinking is going on, I do not feel guilty about betraying my best friend Not even when I find the used condom on the floor, the only guilt I feel is about not feeling guilty. I know the real guilt will appear later when I know that I am safe. Finally I cannot take it any longer, I give in and call Sharpay's cell phone, bit it goes straight to voicemail, so I call their home number, Troy picks the phone, I cringe "_ Troy this Gabriella" _I say trying to sound normal _ You know the maid of honour- the woman you had sex with last night?_

" _Hey Gabs so did you have fun last night?" _he says casually for a second I think he is taking about us, but then I hear Sharpay in the background, I realize that he was talking about the party before I could answer Sharapy has snatched the phone from him, her tone is chipper " Hey sorry forgot to call you back" _" You ok now and everyone ok with you and Troy "_ I have trouble saying his name.

"_Yeah hang give me a sec"_ she says, I hear her close the door, she always moves into the bedroom when she wants to talk on the phone and she sits on the four poster bed, which I help her select _"Oh yeah everything is fine, he was with Chad, I told him he's idoit that he is thirthy four year old engaged man and he stays out all night!"_

" _Well I am glad you guys have made up I say _then I bravely add _I told you he was not cheating on you"_

"_I know… but I still pictured him with strippers from a club blame my overactive imagination"_

Is that what last night was? I know I am not some bimbo but was it some conscious choice of his to get laid before the wedding?

"_Anyway what did you think of the party? I 'm such a best friend I get wasted and leave early, ohh shit and today is your birthday! God I am the worst Gabi!"_

Yeah you're the bad friend

" _The party was awesome so much fun thanks for planning it, total surprise"_

I hear the bedroom door opening and Troy is saying something about being late

" _I gotta run Gabs we're going to the pictures you wanna come?"_

" _Um no thanks"_

"_We still on for tonight Grad Central at 8pm?" _

I totally forgot I had plans to meet Troy, Shapary, and Taylor for a small birthday dinner, there is no way I can face Troy or Shapary not together , I tell her that I am not really up to it and that I am really hangover.. more lies

" _Maybe you will feel better later… I'll will call you after the movies"_

I hang up the phone and sit on the couch contemplating what I did to Sharpay , waiting for the guilt to come, but it doesn't was it I used alcohol as an excuse? _Intoxication_ I think back to criminal law classes _Intoxication is a legal excuse, a defense where the defendant is not blameworthy for having engaged in conduct that otherwise would be a crime _ well Sharpay made me do these shots , _sure blame the victim what is wrong with me?_

There is no other reason for my lack of guilt, do I have it for Sharapy? Was I driven by jealousy last night, did I resent her perfect life? Or maybe in my drunken state I was getting even for past wrongs. Sharpary has not always been the perfect friend.

I start my case to the jury. Remembering something in elementary school, _Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, consider the story of James Cooper…._

Sharapay Louise Evans and I were best friends growing up ever since I moved to Albuquerque when I was eight years old Sharpary lived the house opposite me I remember Sharpay saying to me one day let's pretend we are sisters ! – in no time at all that is she became to me , we slept at each other houses every Friday during school week and even more at during the holidays we shared everything , together her family became my second family.

In fifth grade we discovered boys, which brings me to James , my first real crush I loved his unruly hair and the way his cheeks turn pink when he was embarrassed and I loved the way he was kind to the most unpopular boy in school. the cute biting his lip that does when he concentrating really hard but Sharapay along with everyone else fancied the most popular boy in the school Joe Abbey

Sharapay was irritated by my dissent as well as our good friend Mia Grant, who moved to the same street two years after I did. Mia and Sharapay liked James but not like_ that_, stating that Joe was much cuter and cooler. Nerveless we all assumed that Sharapay would get Joe not only because she was bolder than any other girl, but she was also the prettiest girl in the school.

So that year on Halloween Mia,Sharapay and I assembled in Sharapay's room to prepare for our makeshift gyspy costume, As Sharpay fastened her earrings that she had just purchased from Claire's she said " I think you might be right Gabi"

"Right about what?" I asked feeling the surge of satisfaction wondering what she could be referring to .

Sharapay looked at me, I will never forgot the smirk on her face "You are right about James, I think that I am going to like him too"

"What you mean ' going to like him'

"I am tired of Joe Abbey. I like James Cooper, I like his dimples

"He only has one!" I snapped, I looked at Mia for support for words to say that couldn't just start to like someone, but of course she said nothing

" I can't believe you Sharpay!"

"What's your problem Gabs? She demanded

I said nothing that night but trick and treating was ruined. The next day Sharapy passed James a note, asing him who did he like me or Sharapy and to check the box next to them, he must of checked Sharapay because by lunchtime they were going out, but they never really spent any real time together. Unless you count the may phone calls that were scripted ahead of time, In my mind it didn't matter that Sharpary or James never kissed or that it was only fifth grade or they broke up weeks later when Sharpay decided that she like Joe again. It only mattered that Sharpay stole James from me , maybe she really did change her mind about him- or that is what I would myself to stop me hating her, but deep down I knew that she took James to show me that she could

_So ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in sense that Sharpay Evans has this coming to her.. what goes round comes round._

I picture the faces of the jury, the men look bewildered as if to say, the prettiest girl always get the boy. The only juror that seems moved by the James tale is a slightly over weight girl she sits in the corner of the box I have tapped in this girls empathy, she is secretly satisfied by what I did, maybe because she has a friend like Sharpay, a friend always gets everything she wants.

Once I heard my mum say to my dad that Sharpay had the world by the balls, it was a unlike thing for my mum to say something like it so it stuck in my mind, but it was perfect way to describe Sharapy because she did get what she wanted. And now she had Troy, the dream fiancé

I leave Sharpay a message on her cell phone which will be turn off during the movie, saying that I am too tired to make it to dinner and the thought of eating is making me feel sick.

Another lie as I am feeling very hungry I find the takeaway menus, and I call to order a hamburger with fries. As I wait for my delivery, I think back to my ten year old self writing down where I would be in twenty years, here I am without a husband, the two kids, instead my thirteenth birthday is tainted by a scandal…. Oh well no point beating myself over it, I hit redial on the phone and add a large chocolate fudge ice cream to my order.

I see my girl in the jury box in corner wink at me, she think the ice cream is an awesome idea. After all who doesn't anyone deserve a few weak moments on her birthday?

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What you think so far?

UNTIL NEXT TIME

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HARIBOXXX


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Thank you for the reviews I love getting them !

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When I wake up the next morning I can no longer rationalize what I did, I committed an unspeakable act against a friend, violated a sisterhood. There is no justification

So I will pretend that nothing happened, I shower dry my hair put on my most comfortable work clothes, take the subway to Grand Central and get my coffee at Starbucks and ride two elevator up to my office Each of routine is one step farther from Troy and the incident.

I arrive at my office at eight thirty way early by law firm standards, even the secretaries are in yet, I am sipping my coffee reading an paper, when I notice the blinking red message on my phone usually a warning that more work awaits, I enter my password and wait..

" _you have one new message from an outside caller at seven thirty_ the recording tells me so I play the message

" _Hey Gabby its me.. Troy, I wanted to call you about Saturday- I think we should talk about it? Don't you?, call me I will be at home all day"_

My hearts sinks, never occurred to me that Troy might want to discuss what happened , why can't he just ignore never speak of it again?

What does he want? What is there to say? I hit relay expecting the answer to appear in the sound of voice, but he gives nothing away, I play the message again and again then I listen to Troy one final time before I delete him, his voice sounds different, this makes sense because in some ways he is different, we both are, even if I try to block out what happens even if Troy drops the incident after awkward phone call, we will forever be on each other List- the sex list that everyone has and Troy is on my list for good. I suddenly think of us in bed, and he was Just Troy, separate from Sharpay

_I knew him first! _Its no more ironclad then the James defence, I picture my sympathetic juror leaning forward as she absorbs this pointing out facts_ Gabriella knew him first! Doesn't that give some pass_ the other jurors tell her not to be ridiculous , the girl gives out another fact, _ if it weren't for Gabriella Sharpay and Troy would never met, Gabriella deserved more time with him_

I think back to when I first met Troy Bolton he was older with real life experience he worked as an analyst at an top New York firm, he was confident and relaxed and so gorgeous that was not hard to stare at him, I was positive he would become the next Joe Abbey of law School and I was right, in our fisrt week the drooling of Troy has began , woman began speculating his status, but I dismissed Troy straightaway convincing myself that he was boring and that he was out of my league as a matter of fact I could gone three years without talking to Troy, but we were randomly ended up next to each in one our Professor Jackson class, we all hated him he would make one of the students cry every lesson, this would drive Troy mad he would growl " I would like to wipe that smirk of his face"

Gradually our grumbling would turn to longer talks over coffee in the student lounge we began to study together in hour before class. Preparing for the inevitable- the day Jackson would call on us.

Life for Sharpay was going ok, she moved to New York the same time as did but she came to New York with no job, no money , I let her sleep on floor in my dorm until she found some roommates, she borrowed money from her parents to make rent while she looked for a job, finally settling on a bartending position. For the first time in our friendship, I was happy with my life in compared to her, yes I just as poor, but at least I had a plan. The happy feeling would not last as two weeks later a man waked in to the bar where Sharpay was working and ordered a drink and began chatting to her by the time he had finish his dink, he had promise her a job at one of Manhattan top PR firms telling her to come for the interview, Sharapay went for the interview and got the job her starting salary was seventy thousand , the same I would make if I did well at school and got a job in the New York firm , so while I sweated it out and ranked up debts, Sharpay began her career, she planned parties promoted the latest fashion treads , she dated strings of men.

I rave to her about Troy how smart and funny he was, I do not know why I did it, it was true,maybe I did it because I was jealous of her glamorous life and that I just wanted to juice mine up a bit.

"So why don't you like him" Sharpay would ask

" He is not my type" I would say " We're just friends"

It wasn't till the following month that Sharpay and Troy would meet, a group of us from school including Troy planned an evening out, Sharpay had been asking to meet Troy for weeks, so I phoned and told her to be at the Greyhound pub at eight. She showed up and so did Troy he was wearing a jeans and a blue shirt that brought the colours of his eyes out more, he waked over giving me a kiss on the cheek- and I introduced him to Sharpay who turned on the charm giggling and playing with her hair and nodding at the right things, Troy was pleasant her but didn't seem overly interested. He left before the rest us, telling Sharpay it was nice to meet her.

The next day Troy and I had coffee I waited for Troy to mention her, but he didn't, big part of me enjoyed telling Sharpay that her name did not come up,

A week later out of the blue Troy asked me about Sharpay asking me if she was single and if she was could I give her his number. I did and two weeks later they went on a date to Grand Central Café, it went well because couple days later Troy and Sharpay were off the market.

At the beginning the relationship was turbulent, Sharpay loved to fight with her boyfriends, it wasn't fun unless high drama was involved Once Sharpay found a phone number in Troy's notebook and trace it back to an old girlfriend, the next day Troy came in to class with a bruise and cut on his forehead- Sharpay had thrown a hairdryer at him in a jealous rage.

But as time went the relationship calmed down and the fights grew less intense and she moved in to his apartment then Troy proposed this past winter choosing a weekend in October

I work late that night, delaying my call to Troy, I consider waiting till mid week to phone him, but I decide that the longer I wait, the longer it will be awkward the next time I see him, so I force myself to dial his work number, I hope for voicemail as it was 9pm with any luck he would have gone home to Sharpay

"_Troy Bolton"_

"Hi Troy It's Gabriella"

"Gabi!" he sounds happy to hear from although somewhat nervous "_Thanks for calling, I was starting to think I wasn't going to hear from you"_

" _I have been meaning to call… just that I have busy… "_ I stammer my mouth going dry

" Yeah is been nuts here too Typical Monday" he says sounding more relaxed

An awkward pause follows, _does he expect me to bring up the incident?_

"_What you think about Saturday?"_ His voice becoming lower

"_I don't know what you're asking me…"_

"_Do you feel guilty?"_

"_Of course I feel guilty don't you?" _I look out my window at the lights of Manhattan

"_Well yeah" _he says sincerely " _Obviously it shouldn't had happened, No questions about that. It was wrong and I v'e never cheated on Sharpay before never.. I feel so bad that you've been friends with Sharpay forever and this thing that happened between us … puts you in a really atrocious position" _

" _We were both at fault.. we were both drunk _ I think of us in the elevator, and the feel of his hair between my fingers_… It must been the shots.. plus I hadn't eaten much that day_" I ramble on hoping that were finished

Troy interrupts _ I wasn't that drunk_" he states plainly

_You weren't that drunk?_

As if he read my mind, he continues _ " I mean yes I had a few drinks but I knew what I was doing and on some level I wanted it to happen… I mean is that I think consciously I wanted it to happen. Not it was premeditation but it had crossed my mind at points before"_

_At points before, when? In law school before or after he met Sharpay?_

Troy keeps talking _ " Of course I am aware it can never happen again …right? _ The last word is earnest almost vulnerable

"_Right never ever again"_ I say immediately regretting my choice of words

" _But I don't regret it I should but I don't " _ he says I just sit there saying nothing

" _Anyway Gabi I am sorry for putting you in this position, just thought you should know how I feel" _he finishes laughing nervously

I say okay well I know, and guess we should put this behind us and move on, we say goodbye and hang up.

I stand up turn off my desk light and walk down to the elevator, trying to get Troy out of my head, but as I as wait for the elevator to come, my mind returns to the kiss in the elevator , and the way he looks like sleeping in my bed. These are like photographs of ex-boyfriends that you want to throw away but instead you store then in box under your bed, thinking that it doesn't hurt to save them so that you can revisits the goods times

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UNTIL NEXT TIME

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HARIBO XXX


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Will be posting everyday ;-)

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We are days away from the official start of summer and all Sharpay can talk about is Orlando, she calls and e-mails constantly with information about parties, restaurant's reservation and sample sales where we can get the cutest summer clothes of course I am dreading all of it. Like the fours pervious summers I am in a villa with Sharpay and Troy, this year we are sharing with Chad, Taylor and Emma

"_And we have wedding stuff to do while in Orlando_" Sharpay says.

the wedding is only topic I wish to avoid more than Orlando

_" So we still on for tonight?"_

_What is tonight?"_

_" Hellooo Miss Forgetful! Don't even tell me you have work late- you promise Bikinis? Ring a bell?_

_" Oh Right"_ I say, I had completely forgotten my promise to go Bikinis shopping with her. One of the least pleasant task in the world,right up there with scrubbing toilets,_ " Yeah sure I can still do it"_

_" Great I 'll meet you at the yogurt counter in Bloomies by next to the fat ladies clothes seven sharp!_

I arrive fifteen late then our meeting time, nervous that Sharpay will be pouting I do not feel like haging out with her when she is in one of her mood. But she looks content sitting there with a cup of yogurt. She smiles and waves. I take a deep breath and smile back, reminding myself there is not scarlet letter on my chest.

"Hey Sharapay"

"Hey ! Ohh my good I am going to be so bloated trying on suits!" she points to her stomach with her plastic spoon " but whatever I am used to be fatty"

I roll my eyes "You are not fat"

We through this every summer, hell we go through it every day Sharapay weight is always a discussion that we have every day, she tells me what she is weighing it at,- always fat by her standards,. The thing that irritates me is that although she is three inches taller than I am five pounds lighter, when I point this out to her she says " yeah but your boobs are bigger"

Sharapay is finishing her last spoonful of yogurt and tossing the cup into the trash, " Just tell I have enough time to lose weight before the wedding"

"You have plenty of time" I say _and I have plenty of time of time before the wedding to sop thinking about the fact I had sex with your husband to be._

" I better rein it in or otherwise I will be shop here" Sharapay points to the plus size section without checking to see if ay larger woman were about.

I tell her not be ridiculous as we ride up the escalator to the second floor we make our around the floor searching for racks, at one point I notice that we have chosen the same colour style bikini, if we both end up wanting it, Sharpay will either insist she found it or she will say that we can get the same one. No thanks.

I am reminded of a time that she Mia and I went shopping for backpack two days before we started year at school. We all spotted the same backpack right away it was purple and have sliver hearts and stars on it- way cooler than the other bags, Mia suggested that we get the same one and Sharpay said no, that it was too babyish to match, so we rock-paper-scissors for it, I went with rock and I won, Mia whining that we knew that purple was her favourite colour, " I thought you like Pink Gabi! Mia was no match for me. I told her yes I do like pink but she could plainly see that there were no pink bags ,So Mia settled for yellow one a smiley face on it. Sharpay agonized over reminding choices and finally told us that she was going to sleep on it and come back with her mum the next day. When I got the bus stop on the first day of school there stood Sharapay with a purple bag like mine, I pointed it at it "you got my bag"

"I know" Sharpay said "I decided that I wanted it, who cares if we match?"

Hadn't she been the one to say that matching was babyish

"I care" I said feeling the rage grown inside me, Sharpay rolled her eyes and smacked her gum, " Oh Gabbi like it matters, It's just a bag after all,"

"But you said that we shouldn't match" I accused Sharapay as the bus pulled around the corner and stop in front of us.

"Did I?" she says," who cares" Sharpay used 'who cares (later replace by 'whatever') as the ultimate passive response. I didn't recognize her tactic such at the time: I only knew that she always managed to get her way and make me feel stupid if I fought back.

We boarded the bus Sharpay first she sat down as I sat behind her still furious. The whole backpack issue could have escalated into a full fight, but I refused to let Sharpay betrayal ruin the first day of school. It wasn't worth going to battle with her. The end result was seldom satisfying.

I put back the bikini as we make our way to the changing rooms, when one becomes available Sharpay decides we should share one to save time, she strips down to her nude thong and matching bra, contemplating which suit to try on first, I steal a look at her in the mirror, her long legs are toned from her wedding work outs, her skin already bronzed by routine applications of tanning creams and trips to the tanning place.

I think of Troy, surely he compared our bodies after our night together. Mine isn't nearly as good, I am shorter, softer, whiter and even though my boobs are bigger, hers are better,

" Stop looking at my fat!" Sharpay squeals catching my glance in the mirror

Now I am forced to compliment her, " You are no fat Sharpay you look great . I can tell you have been working out"

"You can? Which part has improved?"

" Just everywhere, your legs look –good" that's all she is getting from me, I have long since grow out of my adolescent jealousies and accepted that she is prettier than I am, but her endless fishing for compliments makes me weary she studies her legs, frowning at the reflection

I undress, noting my own cotton underwear and nonmatching cotton bra I quickly try on my first suit a navy and white tankni

"Oh my god That looks so awesome on you! You going to get it?" Sharpay says

"I guess so" I say it doesn't look awesome but is not too bad. I have studied enough magazine articles to about body flaws to know which suits looks decent on me, this passes. After much discussions I settle on the tankni and Sharpay decides on three tiny bikinis- red, black a one nude coloured that is going to make her look naked from the distance.

As we go to pay for our suits Sharpay grabs my arm "oh sit I forgot I almost forgot to tell you!

"What?" I ask unnerved by her sudden outburst even though I know she is not going to say " I know you slept with Troy!"

"Chad likes you!" we might as well in tenth grade from her tone and word like

I reply " I like him too he is a nice guy" _and a hell of an albi_

" No silly! I mean he likes you. He called Troy and got the number of, I think he is going to as you out" she drops her things on the counter and reaches in purse for wallet

" he got my number from Troy?" I ask thinking that this is a development

"Yeah Troy was cute when he told me about it he was… protective of you"

" What you mean 'protective I asked

" Well he gave Chad your number then he phone to me and asked all those questions such as you seeing anyone did I think Chad would be good for you. Etccc. It was cute"

I digest this information as the store clerk rings up the bikinis

"So are you psyched? If you get a date with him before Orlando Taylor and Emma would be jealous both of them like to sink their nails in him"

"Who says that I am going on a date?"

" Ohh puh-lease don't even start with that shit, you are going (A) he is such a cutie ( B) Gabs no offense you can't exactly afford to be pickly, ms I haven't laid in what over a year?"

The store clerk looks at me sympathetically I glare at Sharpay as I slide my tanki across- yeah _a year_

We leave Bloomingdales and look for a cab on Third Avenue

"So will you go with Chad?"

I guess so"

"Promise?"

" You want me to take a blood oath? Yes, I will go" I say "Who are you calling?" when I see her getting her cell phone out.

"Troy he beat me twenty bucks that you would not go"

That is all I need to know to say yes to Chad when he calls the next day to as me to dinner at Grand Central- Sharpay right- I have nothing going on but more important Troy says I wouldn't go. But then I am start obsessing with what Cha really knows, did Troy tell anything?, I decide that I must call him to find out, my stomach is churning when he answers on the first ring , _"Troy Bolton"_

"_What does Chad know about what happened last Saturday?"_I blurt out my heart racing,

" _Well hello to you too"_ he says

I soften slightly _"Hi Troy"_

"_Last Saturday? What was last Saturday? Refresh my memory"_

" _I'm being serious Troy! What did you tell him?!"_ I am shock to find that I am taking in the girly whiny voice that Sharpay had perfected.

"_What you think I told him?"_ he asks

"_Troy James Bolton tell me!"_

" _Ohh relax" _he says his tone is still one of amusement " _I didn't tell him anything….. what you think this is? A high school locker room? Why would I tell anyone about our business?"_

Our Business Our. We . us

"_I was just wondering what he knew. I mean you told Sharpay that you were with him that night…_

_Yeah, I said Chad I was you with last night and we had breakfast together this morning all right?_ _And that was it I know that's how it works with you girls- women"_

"_What is that supposed to mean?"_

_I mean you and Sharpay every little details with one other like what you ate that day and what brand of makeup you plan purchasing _

" _And like you sleep with one another fiancée? That sort of details?_

Troy laughs _ " Yeah that will be another example_

"_Or your beat that I would not say no to Chad?" _

He laughs at me knowing that he is busted "_ she told you that then?... did it offend you?_

I realise that I am starting to relax. Almost enjoying the conversation… " No…. but it made it say yes to Chad"

"_Oh"_ he laughs _"I see how it works, so had she not shared that piece of information with you, you would of turn down my boy?"_

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I ask coyly not recognizing myself

" _I would actually. Please enlighten me"_

" _I am not sure… Why did you think I would say no?"_

_Wouldn't you like to know"_ he retorts

I smile this is fully- fledged flirtatious banter

"_Okay I thought you would say no because Chad does not seems to your type"_ he finally says

"_And who is"_ I ask and then feel instantly remorseful. Flirting like this is not the path to redemption, my heart is galloping as I await his answer

" _I don't know I 've been trying to figure that out for about eight years"_

I wonder what he means by that statement, I think of nothing to say in response we should hang up now, this is going to end bad

"_Gabi?" _his voice is low and inmate

I feel breathless, hearing him say his name like this, the one syllable is familiar and warm

_Yeah?_

"_You still there?" _ He whispers

"_I am still here"_

" _What you thinking?"_

" _Nothing"_ I lie

I have to lie because what I am thinking is.

Maybe you are my type

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Until next Time

PLEASE REVIEW!

HARIBO X

Ps Many of you were wondering what happened to my other story-

I deleted it by accident! The computer crash as I was sorting out and some reason is not letting me add it again

If anyone wants to read whatever chapter. PM me and I will send you the chapter you want to read


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hope you are still enjoying it! For those who are asking about my story. It is still no uploading IT WILL HAPPEN! So stop asking me! It will happen when it happens!

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Maybe I do not have a type at all. When I consider my past relationship there is no composite picture not that the sample would be statically significant- other than Grant in High School I have only had two boyfriends

My real dating history began in my first semester of college, I lived in a co-ed dorm and every night we all gathered in the lounge to study( or pretend to) to hang out and watch tv shows, it was in the lounge I developed a serious crush on Leo Potter from Texas he was a scrawny and nerdy but I was crazy about him I loved his intelligence and his slow, drawl and the way his eyes would fixed on you when you were taking as if he cared about what you had to say. My roommate, Claire from Orlando encouraged me to ask Leo out, I didn't but I worked on developing a friendship , cracking through his shy exterior to talk to him I really believed that I was making a progress with Leo, until Scott Ellis came in for the kill Scott was the opposite of Hunter a boisterous sports guy with a loud laugh. He was always strolling in the lounge all sweaty with story how his team came from behind in the last second to win the game, he was the kind of guy who was proud of how much he could eat.

One Wednesday night Scott. Leo and I were the last three in the lounge, talking about death penalty and the meaning of life, the stuff I had imagined discussing in college, Scott was pro-death penalty. Leo like me was against the death penalty: all of us was unclear on the meaning of life. We talked and talked and I was determined to outlast Scott and end up with Leo. But sometime after 3am Leo threw in the towel" Awright y'all I have an early class"

C'mon may skip it, I never make it to my eight o'clock" Scott said proudly.

Leo laughed " I figured I 'm paying for it I should go"

This was another thing I liked about Leo, he is paying for his own education, unlike like rich kids here. So he said good night- I watched him go out of the lounge, Scott did not miss a beat, just keep yapping, we were both from Albuquerque- just two towns apart, we played the name game and got two hits, Scott knew LJ Henderson-Sharpay ex-boyfriend and we both knew of Jackie Trigg a promiscuous girl from towns between ours.

Finally when I said good night and must go to bed, Scott followed me upstairs and kissed me I thought of Leo but I still kissed Leo back excited to finally getting some college experience. The next morning I regretted kissing Scott, even more so when I saw Leo in the library his head bent over in textbooks but not enough to keep me from kissing Scott that weekend- this time in the laundry room, so it continued until everybody in our dorm including Leo knew we were an item. I wrote to Sharpay and Mia telling them about my new boyfriend and how I was over Leo( partially true) and how happy was( happy I could be)They both had the same question was I going to go all the way with Scott.

Part of me wanted to wait till I was deeply in love, maybe even married. But I was curious to find out what the fuss was about. So after me and Scott had been together for over six weeks, I marched over to the school health clinic and got a prescription for birth control pill. A month later with added protection of condoms me and Scott did the deed it was his first time too. The earth didn't move during those two and half minutes like Sharpay claimed it did, but it didn't hurt as much as Mia had warned it would do, I was relived it was out of the way and was happy to join my hometown friends in all their womanly glory . Scott and I embraced and said that we loved each other. Ours was better first time than most but that spring there were red flags indicating that Scott was not the man my dreams. Frist he joined a fraternity and took the whole thing way too seriously. One night when I teased him about the secret handshake he told me that if I was disrespected his brotherhood I was disrespecting him he was in a foul mood that night , we begun to aruge about nothing and everything, he said that I hogged the bed ( how cannot hog a twin bed?) I complained that he consistently mixed up our toothbrushes ( who makes that mistake?)the arguing escalated to more significant issues and there was no turning back when he called me a boring intellectual before storming off.

He returned the next day with a solemn face and his scripted ' we need to talk' introduction followed by 'we will always be friends' conclusion I was more stunned than sad, I did not shed a tear until I saw him at a party holding hands with Katie Cooper who also lived in freshmen dorm, I knew my reaction was more than a mixture of hurt pride and regret that maybe I should stuck with Leo who has long since snatched up by a undergraduate. I phone Sharpay who told me that not to look back that I had some good college memories with Scott something I would not have done with Leo, who would ha dragged me down socially " besides" she said earnestly "Scott taught you the basic predictable, missionary-style sex. And that worth something right?" it was her idea of a prep talk I guess it helped a little.

I kept hoping that Leo and his girlfriend would break up, but never happened Leo went on to marry her. I didn't date again at college nor did I through most of Law school. The long drought ended when I met Nicky Stokes.

I met Nicky first year of law school at a party, but for the next three years we barely talked, only said hello in passing then, we find ourselves in the same class, Nicky would speak often ater I made a decent point one day he asked if I wanted to get coffee to discuss it farther, after coffee we took a long walk through the village stopping in CD stores and used books shops, we went to dinner after that and by end of the evening it was clear that we were going to a couple.

I was thrilled having a boyfriend again, he was soft-spoken but strong willed and politically active in defiant, angry sort of way, it was hard to keep track of his causes but I tried. Even convinced myself that I feel the way, Nicky seemed so real, he was intense in bed too. Although he had few partners before me, he seemed very experienced, always urging me to try something new.

Nicky and I graduated from law school and spent the summer in the city studying for the bar exam. Everyday we went to the library together hour after hour, day after day week after week we crammed thousands of rues , facts and laws in our crammed brains. The relentless order brought us closer, we were miserable but happy in our misery together.

But that fall only one of us stayed miserable. Nicky began working as district attorney in Queens and I started my law firm job in midtown, Nicky loved his job I hated mine, my life was bleak apart from my relationship with Nicky I begun to rely on him more and more as my sole source of happiness. I often told him I loved him and felt more relief than joy when he said it back. I started to think about marriage, even children and where we might live.

Then one night me and Nicky went to a bar in the village to hear a singer from Brooklyn name Sara Carlo , after her performance Nicky and I and a few other people chatted with her.

" Your lyrics are beautiful….. What inspires you? Nicky asked her big eyed

I was worried as I had seen that look on our first coffee date I became more distressed when he brought a copy of her CD she wasn't that good, I think they went on a date a week later because one night he was unaccounted for and didn't answer his phone until midnight two weeks later we had the talk he was very forthright " I have feelings for someone else" he said " I always promised that I would tell you"

" It is Sara?" asked, catch my throat.

He look shocked " How did you know?"

" I could tell" I said unable to fight the tears back

"I am sorry" hugging me "it kills me to hurt you like this, but I had to be honest I own you that"

So he got a new girlfriend and he gets to be noble, I wasn't mad, I just sulked around and gained a few pounds and swore off men.

Nicky kept calling for few months afterwards our break up, I knew he was trying to be nice but it give me false hop. I could never resist asking about his girlfriend _" Sara is fine "_ he would say sheepishly the once he answered _" I think we're going to get engaged" _

_Cognations_ that's great I am happy for you"" I said

" _Thank you that means a lot to hear you say that"_

"_Yeah… Best of luck and all but I don't think I want you calling me anymore"_

"_I understand" _he said probably relived to be off the hook

I haven't hear from him since that conversation I am not sure if or when they married, I still look for Sara Carlo when I I am shopping for CDS so far she has not made it big.

I reviewed my two boyfriends the two men I slept with in my twenties searching for common thread, nothing. No consistent features, colouring personality, but one theme does emerged: they all pick me and dumped me I played the passive role. Waiting for Leo, then settling for Scott, waiting to feel more for Nicky. Then waiting to feel less

And now Troy my number three. And I am still waiting

For all this to blow over

For his October wedding

For someone who gives me that tingly feeling as I watch him sleeping in my bed early a Sunday morning. Someone who in's engaged to my best friend.

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UNTILL NEXT TIME

PLEASE REVIEW!

HARIBO X


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

I hope you are enjoying the story!

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On Saturday night I cab down to Grand Central Diner with an open mind and positive attitude- thinking that maybe Chad will be thee someone I am looking for.

I walk into the restaurant and spot him right away sitting at a bar wearing jeans and green striped shirted rolled up

"Sorry I am late" I say as Chad greets me "Had trouble getting a cab"

"No worries" he says offering me a stool next to his. I sit down, he smiles exposing two rows of very white straight teeth- possibly his best feature.

"So what can I get you?" He asks me

" What you having?"

"Gin and Tonic"

"I'll have the same"

He glances towards the bartender with a twenty extended and then looks back at me " You looks good Gabs"

I than him it's been a long time since I received a proper compliment from a guy. It occurs to me that Troy and I didn't get around to compliments.

"So the last time I saw you we were all pretty wasted… that was a fun night"

" Yeah I was pretty out of it" I say, hoping that Troy told me the truth about keeping Chad in the dark " But at least I made it home before sunup, Sharpay told me that you and Troy were out pretty late that night"

"Yeah we hung out for a while" Chad says without looking at me, this is a good sign he is covering for his friend but has trouble lying.

An Asian girl wearing leather pants and too much eye liners taps Chad on the shoulder and tells him that our table is ready. We follow her to the quieter restaurant area behind the bar. As we sit she hands us two oversized menus and a separate wine list.

" Your server will be you shortly" she says before flipping her long black hair and waltzing off.

Cha glances at the wine list and ask if I want to order a bottle

"Sure" I say

"Red or White?"

"Either"

" I am not very good at picking wine" he says cracking his knuckles under the table " You want to "Have a look?"

"That's okay. You can pick whatever is fine"

"All right then, I'll wing it" he says, flashing me his I never skipped night wearing my retainer smile

We study our menus discussing what looks good. Chad slides her chair closer to the table I feel his knee against mine.

"I almost did not ask you out, since we're are in the same summer house and all" Chad says scanning the menu "Troy told me that's one of the rules here. Don't get involved with someone in your house. At least until August" he laughs as I store away this fact for later analysis _Troy discouraged our date._

"But then I thought you know what the hell- I dig her. I'm going to call her. I mean I ve been thinking about asking you out since Troy introduced us. Right when I moved here but I was seening this girl in California and thought would wrap things up with her before call you, just to make it all neat and kosher so I finally ended the deal… and here we are"

I smile feeling myself warm to him. He doesn't evoke the feeling that Troy gives me, but he is plesant to and easy to be with "I think you made the right decision"

"To wait?"

"No to call" I give him my most alluring smile fleeting reminding myself of Sharpay

Our waitress interrupts the monment " Hello, how are you this evening?

" Fine" Chad says cheerfully, and then lowers his voice " for a first date"

I laugh but our waitress musters only a stiff tight-lipped smile " So would you like to start with a drink?"

"Yeah… think we're going with a bottle of red. What do you recommend?" he squints at the menu

"The Pinot Noir is superb" she points down at the wine list

"Fine that one then perfect"

"Are you ready to order?"

" Yes I think we were" I say and then asked for burger and fries

" How would you like that done?"

"Medium" I say

Chad orders the lamb with fries

"Excellent choices "the wateriness says with an affection tilt of her head, she gathers our menus and turns her back

"Where were we?... Oh yeah Orlando, so Troy says is never a good idea to go out with someone in your own house. And I am like 'Dude I am not playing by your rules, if we end up hating each us, we hate each other.

" I don't think we are going to hate each other" I say

Our waitress returns with the wine and uncorks the bottle, and pour some into his glass Chad takes healthy sip and reports that is great, skipping the usual pretentious ceremony-I hate it when there do it.

As out waitress pours my wine I as Chad if he knows about the bet

He shakes his head "What bet?"

I wait until we are alone- it's bad enough that our waitress that this a first date- Sharapay and Troy had a bet whether I'd say yes when you asked me out"

"Get outta of here!" he drops his jaw for effect " That they are so up and in our business!" he shakes his head " bastards"

"I know "

He lifts his glass "To eluding Troy and Sharpay. No sharing details of tonight with those nosey bastards "

I laugh "No matter how great- or bad this date is!" Our glasses clink and we sip in unison

"This date is not going bad, trust me on that"

I smile "I trust you" I do trust him I think. There is something disarming about his sense of humor and easy. Midwestern style. And he is not engaged to Sharpay nice bonus. Then as if on cue he ask me how long I 've know Sharapay " Twenty- something years"

And you were the one who introduced Sharpay and Troy right?" He said that you were good friends in law school?"

_Right. My good friend Troy. The last person I slept with._

"I met him first semester of law school. I knew right away that he and Sharpay would make a good match" I say a bit of exaggeration but I want to set the record straight that I never considered Troy for myself. Which I didn't and I still don't

"Enough about Troy and Sharpay" I say

"Yeah,I hear ya"

We start the typical first date conversation, discussing our jobs and families and general background. We cover his move to New York our food arrives. We eat and talk more and order other bottle of red. There is more laughter than silence I am even comfortable to eat a bite of his lamb when he offers to me.

After dinner Cha pays the bill it's an awkward moment for me, I thank and we make our way to the door where we decide to get other drink

"You pick a place" Chad says. I chose a bar that just opened near my apartment we get in the cab taking the whole way. Then we sit at the bar talking more.

Couple hours and two drinks later I glance at my watch and say it's getting late

"Okay I'll walk you home?

"Sure"

We stroll over to third avenue and stop in front of my apartment " Good night Chad thank you so much for dinner I had a really nice time" I say meaning it

"Yeah so did I it was good" he licks his lips quickly. I know what is coming "And I am glad we are in the same house this summer" then he ask if he can kiss me it a question I don't usually like, but for some reason it does not brother me coming from Chad.

I nod as he leans over and gives me a medium long kiss, we separate. My heart isn't palpitating but I am content

"You think Troy and Sharpay beat on that" he ask

I laugh I had been wondering the same thing

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"How did it go?" Sharapay yells into the phone the next morning I have just got out of the shower, dripping wet "where are you?"

"In the car with Troy we are on our way back to the city, she says we went antiquing" she can't even wait until she gets home to get the scoop on my date.

"Well?" she says

"We have a bad connection, your cell is breaking up" I say "I can't hear you"

" Nice try, give me the goods"

"What goods?"

"Gabriella! Don't play dumb with me. Tell me about your date! We are dying to know!"

I hear Troy in the background "Just dying!"

"It was lovely evening" I say trying to wrap towel around my head without dropping the phone

She squeals "I knew it! So details! Details!"

I tell her that we went to Grand centre diner and he had lamb and I had burgers.

" Gabriella! Get to the good stuff! Did you hook up!"

"Why not?"

" I have my reason"

"That means you did" she says "Otherwise you would say no"

"Think what you want"

"Come on Gabriella!"

" No Sharpay"

" if I promise not tell Troy?"

"Still no"

Sharpay makes an exasperated sound. Then she tells me she will find out one way or other and hangs up.

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Hope you are enjoying it

PLEASE REVIEW!

HARIBO X


	8. Chapter 8

I am so so sorry for lack of updates; busy with assignments I love you all! Thank you soo much for your PMs I loved them

Will be back to normal now

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Me, Troy, Sharpay, Chad, Taylor and Emma arrive our summer house in Orlando, this year we are staying in an small cottage with limited charm, I am liking it it's different to the one we rented out last year Sharpay found it when she came out one weekend in May, disgusted with all of us not sacrificing a weekend to house hunt. She organized everything including setting up the other half of the share, as we tour the cottage Sharpay apologies again for the lack of pool. We reassure her that the big backyard with a grill makes up for that plus we are close to the beach which in opinion the most important thing about a summer house.

We unpack the car and find our bedroom Troy and Sharpay have the room with king size bed with ensuite. Chad has his own room I am rooming with Taylor and Emma who blew off work today and arrived last night.

I call her on my cell now "Where are you?"

"Jackie's" she shouts over the background noise "Want me to stay here or shall I meet you guys somewhere?"

I repeat the question to Sharpay

"Tell her we will be going straight to Club Orlando" Sharpay says

Then as I expected Sharpay insist on changing her travelling clothes to dancing clothes Chad says he think he'll change as well, so Troy and I sit in the TV room opposite each other, waiting, he holds the remote control but does not turn the TV on. It is the first time we been alone since the incident. I swallow nervously, conscious of a sweat accumulating under my arms. Why am I nervous? What happened is behind us. It was a one-off. It is over. Over I must relax. Act normal. As I try to remember what normal felt like before the incident, "Aren't you going to doll up for your boyfriend?" he ask me quietly, still without looking at me.

" I am fine in this" I say glancing down at my outfit, I am wearing my jeans and red shirt with black rose pinned to the collar wearing a lace jacket my hair is up with lose curls framing my face.

"You and Chad make a swell couple" he says while glancing at the staircase

"Thanks, so do you and Sharpay"

We exchange lingering look, too loaded with potential meaning to begin to interpret. And them before he respond, Sharpay bounds down the stairs wearing a black lacy dress, She hands Troy pair of scissors and couches at his feet " Can you cut the tag please?"

He snips. She stands and spins

"Well how do I look?

"Nice, he says, and then glance at me sheepishly as if the one-word compliment to his fiancée might have upset me.

"You look awesome" I say, to show him that doesn't not in the least.

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We pay the cover and make our way through the massive crowd at Club Orlando. Our favourite bar in Orlando saying hello to the all people that we know from the previous summer we spent here. We find Emma at the bar, with Blue Moon, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt and blue flip flops- the sort Sharpay would only wear to pedicurist

"Hey Guys!" she yells "what took you so long?!"

"Someone had to get ready" Troy says looking at Sharpay while rolling his eyes

"Of course I had to get ready!" Sharpay says while looking down to admire her dress

Emma insist that we need to kick start the evening and orders a round of shots. She hands them out as we stand in a tight circle ready to drink together.

"To the best summer ever!" Sharpay says, she says this at the start of every summer, expressing wildly high expectations that I never share, but maybe this summer she will be right. Maybe I will fall in love. With Chad of course.

We all throw back our shots, which taste like straight vodka. Then Troy buys another round, and when he hands me my beer, his fingers graze mine, I wonder if he does this on purpose

"Thank you" I say

"Anytime" he murmurs, holding, my gaze,

I count to three silently and I look away

As the night wears on, I find myself watching Sharpay and Troy interact. I am surprised by the pangs I feel as I watch them, it is jealousy, but something related to it. I notice little things that didn't used to register like she slipped her four fingers into the back of his jeans. Right now he leans in to say something to her. She nods and smiles, I imagine that his words were "I want you tonight" or something along those lines. I wonder if they have sex since he and I were together. Surely yes, and that bothers me in some weird way. I try and focus on Chad, I stand near him, talk to him, laugh at his jokes and when asks me to dance I say yes without hesitation. I follow him onto the crowed dance floor. We work up a good sweat, dancing and laughing, when I feel his body against mine I realise that although there is no chemistry I having fun, maybe this will lead to something, but is it good enough? Am I only using Chad to bother Troy? I tell myself to stop overthinking things and just have fun.

"They're dying to know what happened on our date" Chad says into my ear

Why you say that? I ask

"Sharpay inquired earlier"

I hesitate and then ask "Did Troy say anything?"

"No, but he was standing next to her looking pretty interested

"Some nerve" I say playfully

"I know, the nosy bastards…. And don't look now, but they're starting at us"

I drape my arms over his shoulders and move my body flush against his

"Well then let's give them something to look at".

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UNTIL NEXT TIME

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HARIBO X


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone remember me! I am back I know I am so so late with this,

But I promise I will be back to normal with posting

Hope you enjoy it xx

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Chapter 9

"What the deal between you and Chad?" Taylor asks me the next morning as she picks through the pile of clothes that have already accumulated beside her bed.

"No deal really"

" Potential?"

"Maybe"

Summer or long?

"I don't know maybe long term"

"Well you looked like total couple last night" she says " Out there dancing"

"We did?" I ask thinking that if we looked like a couple, Troy must know that I'm not dwelling on him

She nods, finds her 'Potter Rules' t-shirt and sniffs the armpit before tossing it over to me. "Is this clean? smell it".

"I 'm not going to smell your shirt!" I say, throwing it back to her "You're gross!"

She laughs and puts on her obviously clean enough shirt " Yeah.. You two were out there whispering and laughing I thought for sure you were going to hook up last night and that I would get the room to myself."

I laugh "Sorry to disappoint"

"You disappointed him more"

"Nah, He just said good night when we got home, Not even a kiss"

Taylor knows about the first kiss., " Why Not?"

I don't know we are both proceeding with caution We'll have lot of contact between now and September…and he is in the wedding party too. If things blow up, it could be bad"

She looks as if she is considering my point, for one second I am tempted to tell Taylor everything about me and Troy, I trust her. But I don't sure, reasoning that I can always tell her, but I can't un- tell her and erase the knowledge from her mind. When we are all together, I would feel even more awkward, constantly thinking that she's thinking about it, and anyway it is over, there is nothing to talk about.

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We go downstairs our housemates have already assembled round the kitchen table

"It's 8 am and its already humid outside" Sharpay says looking up from her magazine

Emma looks up from her laptop "Perfect beach weather"

"Perfect golf weather" Taylor says looking at Troy and Chad "Any interest?"

"Umm, maybe Troy says glancing up from the sport page "Want me to see if I can get a tee time?"

Sharpay slams her magazine on the table and looks around defiantly.

Taylor does not seem to notice Sharpay's objections to round of golf because she says "Or we could pop over to the driving range."

"No! No! No Golf!" Sharpay pounds on the table again, this time with her fist "Not on our first day right, Gabs?"

"Guess that means no golf today" Troy says before I am forced to become involved in the great golf debate. " Sharpay's orders"

Taylor gets up from the table with a disgusted look on her face

" I just want us all to be together at the beach" Sharpay says

"And you make the prospect seem so pleasant" Troy stands, walks over to the sink and starts making coffee

"What's your problem, grouchy bottom?" Sharpay says to his back as if he is the one who told her how to spend the day "You been in a bad mood ever since we arrived"

"No I haven't" Troy says, I want him to turn around so I can read his expression

"Have too, hasn't he?" Sharpay demands an answer from the rest of us, looking at me specifically, being friends with Sharpay has taught me the art of smoothing things over. But sleeping with her fiancé has dulled my instinct, I am not in the mood to chime in. we all shrug or look away.

In truth though, Troy has been somewhat subdued . I wonder if I have anything to do with his mood. Maybe it bothered him watching me with Chad. Not full blown jealousy, just territorial pangs that I experienced. Or maybe he is thinking about Sharpay, seeing her for the controlling person she is.

Chad grabs the box of Rice Krispies and pours some into his bowl, he looks across the table at me "Want some?" I nod and he prepares my bowl. He doesn't ask anyone else if he wants cereal, just pushes the box down the table

" Banana?" he ask me

"Yes please"

He peels the banana and then slices it into his bowl and mine he takes the bruised section for himself. We are sharing a banana. This means something. Troy's eyes dart my way as Chad flicks the last piece of banana in bowl.

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Several hours later, we are finally ready to go to the beach. Sharpay emerge from her room with her stylish Ted Baker bag filled to the brim with plush new beach towels and magazines, lotions and makeup. Emma and Taylor carry a towel, sunglasses and a magazine Taylor is also carrying a Frisbee. I am somewhat in between with a beach towel, my flip flops, my iPod and a bottle of water.

The six of us walk in row, our flip flops smacking on the pavement with the satisfying sound of summer, we across the beach parking lot and climb over the dune, hesitating for a second to take in our first collective glimpse of Ocean, the view is thrilling it almost makes me forget that I slept with Troy.

Troy leads the way down the crowed beach, finding us a spot halfway between the dunes and the ocean, we spread our towels, Chad puts his towel next to mine, Sharpay is on my other side, Troy is next to her, Emma and Taylor are in front of us.

Chad offers to put suntan lotion on my back. "No thanks" I say but as I struggle to reach the middle of my back, he takes the bottle from me and applies the lotion,

" Do mine Troy" Sharpay says Cheerfully. Shedding her white shorts and squatting in front of Troy in her blue Bikini

" Here use the Coconut Oil please"

Emma bemoans the lack of SPF in the oil, says we are too old to keep tanning and that Sharpay will be sorry when the wrinkles set in, Sharpay rolls her eyes and says she doesn't care about wrinkles, she lives in the moment

" I will just get laser resurfacing" Sharpay adjust her bikini top and then coats on more oil on her calves. I have watched her grease up for the pass fifteen years. Every summer her goal was have a savage tan. Often we would lie out In her backyard with big tub of Crisco, a bottle of Sun in and garden hose for periodic relief.

Emma remarks that cosmetic surgery won't cure skin cancer.

"Oh for Pete's sake! Sharpay says "Stay under your damn hat then!"

Troy looks at me and makes a face as if to say that he wishes both of them would shut up. It is the first direct communication we have had all day. I allow myself to smile at him. His face break into a glorious grin he is so handsome that it hurts. Like looking in the sun. He stands for moment to adjust the towel, which he folded over in the wind, I look at his back and then down his calves. Feeling a sugre of remembrance _he was in my bed_ Not that I want a repeat performance but oh he has a nice body- lean but broad, I am not a body person, but I still appreciate a prefect one. He sits back down just as I look away.

"Hand me my shirt" Sharpay says to Troy

"Please?"

The please is given" Sharpay says

"Say it" he says

Sharpay hits him hard in the stomach

"Ouch" he says in a flat monotone, to indicate that it didn't hurt him the slightest

She winds up to hit him again, but he grabs her wrist."Try to behave, You're such a child" he says fondly" His edginess of this morning gone.

"I am not" she says sidling over to his towel, She presses her fingers into his chest, poised for kiss.

I put on my sunglasses and look away

To say that what I am feeling is not jealousy is a stretch.

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Until next time which is tomorrow

PLEASE REVIEW!

HARBIO XXX


	10. Chapter 10

Hope you are enjoying this xxx

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The next morning, I check my voice mail, Ashley has left me three messages. He might as well be a Jehovah's Witness for as much attention he pays to the holidays. He says that he wants 'to go over a few things, early afternoon'. I know he is vague on purpose, not leaving, a specific time or instructions to me him at the office or call in. This way he can be sure that my Memorial Day is slashed in half, Taylor tells me to ignore him, pretend that I did not get the message. But of course I dutifully check the flights time and I decide that will get the next flight back to New York which is in couple hours, giving me enough time to be at the office by 2pm. Deep down I know work is only an excuse to go- I had enough of this all whole bizarre dynamic, I like Chad but it is exhausting being around him and it's even more exhausting avoiding Troy. I avoid him when he is alone, avoid him when he is with Sharpay. Avoid dwelling on him and the incident.

"I really need to go back" I sigh as if it is the last thing I want to do

"You can't leave!" Sharpay says "You're such a buzz kill"

"She can't help having to work Sharpay Troy says Maybe he says it because she often calls him a buzz kill too.

After I have packed all my things, I go outside where everyone is lazing around on the deck chairs enjoying the sunshine.

"Can someone give me a lift to the airport" I ask, expecting Chad to volunteer

But before he can Troy says, I'll will take you, I want to stop at Walmart anyway".

I say goodbye to everyone and Chad squeezes my arm and say he'll will give me call in the week.

Then Troy and I are off, alone.

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"Did you have a nice weekend?" he asks me as were backing out of the driveway. Gone is any trace id the banter that surface right after the incident.

"Yeah it was nice" I say "Did you?"

"Sure he says "Very nice"

After a brief silence, we talk about work and mutual from law school, stuff we talked about before the Incident. Things seem normal again, or as normal can be after a mistake like ours.

We arrived at the airport, no words are spoken when Troy takes my suitcase and walks with me inside the airport, Troy stays me with me while I check in, I then check to see if my flight is on time , it is we grab a seat, after couple second of silence, Troy turns in his seat and studies me with is blue eyes he asks me what I am doing on Tuesday night.

I think I know what he's asking, but am not sure, so I reply "work, the usual"

His face is serious "Look Gabbi I want to see you,I am coming over at eight on Tuesday."

And the way he says it- as a statement rather than a question- makes my stomach hurt. It's a familiar ache but I can't quite place it. My smile matches his serious face, I would like to say that his request has caught me off guard, but I think part of me expect this, even hoped for it, when Troy offered to drive me. I don't ask why he wants to see him or what he wants to talk about, I don't say that I have to work or that it's not a good idea. I just nod "Okay".

I tell myself that the only reason I agree to see him is that we have to finish sorting out what had happened between us. And therefore ,I am not committing a further wrong against Sharpay: I'm simply trying to fix the damage already done. And I tell myself that if I do in fact, actually want to see Troy for other reasons, it's only because I miss my friend, I think back to my birthday and remembering, how much I enjoyed his solo company, how much I enjoyed Troy removed from Sharpay's demands, I miss his friendship, I only want to talk to him, that is all.

The lady over the PA has announced my flight number 4563 to JFK Gate 23 is now open and have to start making my way to the gate. I grab my bag and nod to Troy who nods back and leave without another word between us.

As I settle down in the window seat the lady next to me is talking very loudly on the phone, I suddenly know what it is in my stomach. It is the same way I felt after sex with Nicky in those final days before he left me for that singer Sara. It is a mixture of genuine emotion for another person, and fear of losing something, I know at this moment that by allowing Troy to come over I am risking something, risking friendship, risking my heart. The feeling is growing inside me it is good and bad at the same time like drinking too much coffee, it is both exciting and scary, like waiting for a wave to crash over your head.

Something is coming, and I am doing nothing to stop it.

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Until next time

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HARIBO XX


	11. Chapter 11

Hope you are still enjoying the story

Double post

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Its Tuesday night twenty minutes before eight. I am home, I have not heard from Troy all day so I assume we are still on. I floss and brush my teeth I change out of my suit , put in my black lacy underwear-even though I know know, know that nothing is going to happen- and jeans and a t-shirt, I apply a touch of blush and some lip gloss. I look causal, comfortable, the opposite of how I feel.

At exactly eight, Jack rings my buzzer "You have company" he bellows

"Thanks Jack, Send him up"

Seconds later Troy appears in my doorway in a dark suit with blue shirt, the blue shirt makes his eyes stands out more.

"Your Doorman was smirking at me" he says, as he steps into my apartment and tentatively looking around as if this were his first visit.

"Impossible" I say "That's in your head"

"It's not in my head; I know a smirk when I see one"

"You have a guilty conscience" I say

"I told you already, I don't feel guilty about what we did" He looks steadily into my eyes

I feel myself bring sucked in his gaze, losing my resolve to be a good person, good friend. I look away nervously; ask if he wants something to drink. He says a glass of water would be fine no ice. I am out of bottle water so I run the tap until it comes out cool. I fill glass for each of us and join him on my couch.

He takes several big gulps and then puts his glass down on my coffee table. I sip from my glass. I can feel him starting at me, but I don't look back. I keep my eyes straight ahead where my bed is situated- the scene of the Incident. I need to get a proper one- bedroom or at least a screen to separate my sleeping room from the rest of the apartment.

"Gabi" he says "Look at me"

I glance at him and then down at my coffee table.

He puts his hand on my chin and turns my face towards his, I feel myself blush but don't move away "What?" I release a nervous laugh. He doesn't change expression.

"Gabi"

"What?"

"We have a problem"

"We do?"

"A major problem"

He leans forward, his arm draped along the back of the sofa. He kisses me softly and then more urgently. And If I thought Chad was a good kisser or Nicky before him, or anyone else for that matter, I tought I was wrong in comparison, everyone else was merely competent. This kiss from Troy makes the room spin. And this time is not from the booze. This kiss is like the kiss I have read about, seen in the movies. The one I wasn't sure existed in real life. I never felt this way before. Fireworks and all.

We kiss for a long time, not breaking away once. Not even shifting positions on my couch even though we are at an unnatural distance for such intense kiss. I can't speak for him, but I know why I don't move, I don't want to it to end, don't want the next awkward stage to come where we might ask the question about what are we doing. I didn't want to talk about Sharpay, to even hear her name. She has nothing to do with this moment. Nothing this kiss stands on its own. It is removed from time or circumstance or their October wedding. This is what I tell myself, when Troy finally breaks away, is only to move closer to me and put his arms around me and whisper in my ear "I can't stop thinking about you"

_I can't stop either_

But I can control what I'm doing, there is emotion and the, there is what you do about it. I pull away, but not too far away and shake my head.

"What?" he asks gently, his arms partially around me. "We shouldn't be doing this" I say, It is a watered down protest, but at least it is something.

Sharpay can be annoying, controlling but she is my friend. I am a good friend. A good person, this isn't who I am I must stop, I won't know myself if I don't stop.

Yet I don't move away. Instead I wait to be convinced otherwise, hoping he will talk to me into it and sure enough

"Yes we should" he says Troy's words are sure. No second guessing, doubts, worry. Hr holds my face in his hands and starts intently into my eyes. "We have to"

There is nothing slick in his words, He is my friend, the friend I knew and cared before Sharpay ever met him. Why didn't I recognize my feeling sooner? Why did I put Sharpay interest ahead of my own? Troy leans in and kiss me again softly with a sense of absolute certainty.

_But this is wrong_ I silently protest, knowing that I am too late, that I have already surrendered. We have crossed a new line together because even though we have already slept together, that didn't really count, we were drunk reckless. Nothing really happened until this kiss today.

That all changed now, for better for worse

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Hope you are enjoying this,

Many are asking about my story Frontline, I hope to post it soon, if fanfic will let me

Please be patient! It will be back!

Please review this!

Love you all

Haribo xxx


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